Legendary Entertainment is waving goodbye to Warner Bros. and saying hello to Sony Pictures.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the high-profile American film production and mass media company has closed a deal with Sony that will see the studio distribute and market Legendary's upcoming movies to a global audience, excluding China, where Legendary East will handle those duties. The partnership pact does not include the Dune or MonsterVerse franchises, which will continue to be released by Warner Bros., Legendary’s previous partner. At this time, there is no formal deal for Sony to co-finance Legendary films, although THR notes the two could explore that option at a later date.

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In a statement, Legendary CEO Joshua Grode praised the new partnership, saying, "Sony’s commitment to theatrical distribution aligns with our vision of how to best derive the most value for Legendary’s movies. The incredible slate of movies that Mary Parent has amassed are built for the theatrical experience and we are excited about our partnership with Sony for this next phase of Legendary’s growth … We are also grateful to Warner Bros. Pictures who has been a valuable partner to Legendary over many years, and we look forward to continuing our work with the talented executives at Warner/Discovery."

In addition to theatrical distribution and marketing, Sony will also handle home entertainment and TV distribution duties while Legendary will continue to partner with other companies for streaming. "It’s a rare opportunity to partner in this mutually beneficial way with true pros, who are completely aligned in our theatrical commitment and vision for this business," said Josh Greenstein and Sanford Panitch, presidents of Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group. "The creative brilliance and power of Legendary is huge and we look forward to bringing their work to theaters across the world."

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Upcoming Legendary Films Include a Return to the MonsterVerse

Legendary was founded in the early 2000s by Thomas Tull. The production company initially partnered with Warner Bros. between 2005 and 2014, co-financing prominent blockbuster films like Superman Returns and Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight trilogy. Following the conclusion of the WB partnership, Legendary signed a distribution and co-financing deal with Universal that lasted until 2019 when Legendary returned to WB. Upcoming Legendary films that will be released under the Sony partnership include an adaptation of the 1990s video game Duke Nukem and The Machine, starring Bert Kreischer and Mark Hamill. Dune: Part Two (2023) and the Godzilla vs. Kong sequel (2024) will be distributed by Warner Bros while God Country and Gundam are in the works at Netflix.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter